Wednesday, March 17, 2010

New Registrar of the Supreme Court Appointed

Mr Jude Bonte has been appointed as the new Registrar of the Supreme Court of Seychelles. This is a welcome appointment given that certain matters at the Supreme Court were at a standstill since the departure of the previous Registrar in early January.

The Registrar of the Supreme Court is, inter alia, in charge of the day to day administration of the Courts. Although it is not necessary for the Registrar of the Supreme Court to be a qualified lawyer, as the Registrar has to deal with certain legal matters, it is highly desirable that the Registrar has experience in court processes. And prior to this appointment, Mr Bonte was a practicing Attorney-at-Law and a Notary. He had also served as a State Counsel at the Attorney General's Office and was the Compliance and Corporate Services Manager at the Seychelles International Business Authority (SIBA). Mr Bonte was also elected to the Management Committee of the Bar Association of Seychelles in 2009. Mr Bonte was instrumental in the setting up of the website of the Bar Association of Seychelles.

Mr Bonte has a computer-related bachelor's degree, a Graduate Diploma in Law and has successfully completed the Legal Practice Course of the UK. It is hoped that Mr Bonte can bring the Supreme Court into the IT age. Already, steps have been done to publish selected Supreme Court judgments online.


The Robing Room is the official blog of the Seychelles Legal Environment Website (sites.google.com/site/theseychelleslegalenvironment), the only website about the Seychelles Legal Environment that is constantly updated.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Supreme Court Judgments Online

Judgments of the Supreme Court of Seychelles can now be seen online. This is through the website of the Southern African Legal Information Institute. At the moment, only a selection of judgments are visible online. As of today (09/03/2010), 172 judgments from 2004 to 2010 are available. Click here to access the website's index of Seychelles Supreme Court judgments.

The information is being made public on the initiative of the Supreme Court of Seychelles. It is envisaged that over time, all of the judgments of the Seychelles Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court of Seychelles and eventually all of the laws of Seychelles will be available online. Co-ordination between the relevant Government bodies will be necessary to ensure that this information can be made available to the public, and in an efficient manner. As, although it is the Judiciary that causes the production of judgments, it is the Department of Legal Affairs that is in charge of preparing and collating the laws of Seychelles, both primary and secondary legislation.

For now, it is a step in the right direction. Having the laws and judgments available online will increase transparency and accountability in the Seychelles Legal System.


The Robing Room is the official blog of the Seychelles Legal Environment Website (sites.google.com/site/theseychelleslegalenvironment), the only website about the Seychelles Legal Environment that is constantly updated.